Nationals players celebrate in normal fashion after their clinching win.

Game in a nutshell: It had been 79 years since a Washington baseball team had the opportunity to celebrate a clinching victory, so no one would blame the Nationals had they partied like it was 1933 upon beating the Dodgers tonight and guaranteeing their place in MLB's 2012 postseason. All along, though, manager Davey Johnson and clubhouse veterans insisted they weren't going to make a big deal out of clinching a Wild Card berth, that the real celebration would come once they locked up the NL East. So the scene tonight at Nationals Park as Drew Storen recorded the final out, while joyous, was hardly over-exuberant. Make no mistake, though: This is a major accomplishment for a club that had not posted a winning season during its first seven years of existence and a town that has not witnessed postseason baseball since the Roosevelt administration. The Nationals still have loftier goals to reach before this season comes to an end, but it's perfectly OK to celebrate this milestone, one few in Washington have ever had the chance to celebrate before.

YAAAAYYYYY! I was planning to go to the last Brewers game on Monday–when I'm there, I'm definitely going to grab one of those Natitude post-season shirts!I followed the Nats in a lackadaisical way in the two previous seasons, but this season has turned me into a diehard. Keep going, boys, and sew up the NL East!

I know this is the appetizer, and I know there's more to come. And yet, there I sat in front of the tv set, with a silly grin on my face and tears streaming from my eyes. Atta way, Nats! I love you all. <3

It has happened. It has really happened. Like a lot of you, I am a season ticket holder since day one. Here we are: the night we clinched our first playoff appearance. IT FEELS SO GOOD!Thank you Mark for giving us this place to share as our Nats community.

NatsNut.. have to agree..Having watched CRAPPY cubs baseball and only seeing winning seasons when I moved to DC – O's with DAVEY and then in LA with the Angels. IT feels so good to have this now for a team that I have been invested in since Day one. I remember that Trailer in the RFK parking lot in 2004 that I bought all the Christmas presents for. All the horrible years, This is just a great day.

Michelle –December 22, 2004. The day they re-opened that crappy little store in the RFK parking lot after the hiccup with the DC Council. I was there and bought Curly W's for my extended family.I remember it well. The beginning of an investment with your heart that was paid back tonight.

Constant.. As someone who lives in VA, I was pacing and ranting and raving at the DC City council during that time.. Trying to figure out a way to bribe some council members (figure I could get Marion Barry easy)

MicheleS … Arlington here. I attended the 'protests' calling for Baseball in Arlington (still have a poster on a wall). Attended similar gatherings in DC after the Council snafu. Was interviewed on NewsChannel8 in line to buy stuff the day the store re-opened. I said it was my son's first birthday and I was beginning a tradition of buying Nats stuff for his birthday.He'll be sitting next to me at the first playoff game. OK, now I'm tearing up again.

I was one month old the last tine this franchise was in the playoff, took my entire lifetime to see it again. I lost my quebec nordiques and they went on to win the Stanley Cup in Colorado. Im looking for the Nats to do the same thing.

We Are The Natitude, hear our noiseAs we blow our lungs out for the DC boiesThey're modest and humble, to a faultBut they're right on the vergeOf doin' a John GaltAnd sayin' yeah y'all we can win this thangGimme gimme gimme gimme that ringFirst step nowNext step soonAs Desi hits a tater over the moonAnd Lombo's line drives have their men guarding nutsDrew's sick stuff feezin' all the chump buttsYeah now oh yeah how does it feelOur Nattie Bad Nasties are the realest dealThat's what I'm sayin'Here we goTo the prime time stuffAnd the big October ShowNatties in sixI don't care who faceThen the NatsInsider will be the placeTo partyIt's awesomeThe trophySome huggin'We got this, guys.

Congratulations to all you Nats' fans wherever you are in the world. You deserve to be rewarded for your faith.For me it's the Nats forever! But a small part of me, as with other Expos' fans, is still remembering 'what might have been' for that star-crossed Canadian team. Last guy that I saw walk off the field for the Hated Dodgers was coach Tim Wallach—best 3rd base guy that the Expos ever had.Baseball always has a way of coming full circle.On to the WS Nats fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As usual, Davey said it best: "We're not done yet."Congrats to all: Mark, Mrs. Z, Baby Z, all the Nats Insiders, Rizz, Davey, coaches, players. They deserve it. One loud, long:"WOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!!"(Copyright, MicheleS, All rights reserved.Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of the pictures and accounts of this game without the express written consent of MicheleS is prohibited.)

Once again I will point out that we are all frauds. No way we were going to celebrate that low-rent wild card spot. Busted. Feels better than we thought it was going to, right? Not ashamed at all. After where we have been, 91 wins and a wild card berth? It does mean something.

I was holding out for the Division Clinch, but I cried anyway. To quote MichelleS woooooooooooohoooooooooo. 8 more to the next celebration. I love them no matter what. I truly do. But tonight I love even the dust mites under the bed. GYFNG!!!!!

Finally, finally here … I do hope Ted Lerner is celebrating … it was impetus to see a winner before too long given his advanced age. The Nats will now be the youngest team in the playoffs and the most inexperienced. No expectations is probably the best way a true Nats fan should approach it. Just be happy in the moments;For they will longer be few and far in between thanks to Mike Rizzo and Davey Johnson and all the talented people they hired. Look out National League the Nats have arrived! At the end of the Mayan Calendar there is a curly W sign, full of hope, pointing to the future!

Maybe now we can put those cantankerous ghosts to rest : Teddy Ballgame, Curt Flood, Denny McLain, Del Unser, Hondo, Stround, Casanova, and Dave Nelson plus Jeff Buroughs that era's Espy and Harper (what a joke) and Pete Broberg (as the Stras). And most of all Bob Short as the AngelHoes. Oh well maybe NOT HIM!

Peric, Angeloser is kicking his dog if he has one. He has to hate this while he calls MASN to make sure the postgame show doesn't go a minute over schedule and tells them to add some extra WB Mason commercialsYou know the old saying, what comes around goes around.

So, it seems unlikely that the Nats will be at home when they clinch unless the Braves simply refuse to lose … What's the protocol here. Do we root for the Braves to hang in there or just go ahead and blow them out of the water?

Fantastic to be in the park for this historic night. And the on-field celebration complete with understated bang zoom fireworks was perfect. A really tight, well played game too. Great pitching, and clutch situational hitting. (Thank you KSuzuki for that sac fly.) And Harper, once again, showing that hustle and speed pays dividends on the scoreboard.Davey said the players did a champagne toast.At 7 pm tonight a friend emailed me with the following question: "I wonder what they'll do if they win tonight. Does protocol prevent a full post-game hootenanny if it is only a WC berth?"I responded as follows: "I sure hope so. A quiet toast would be fine."So I guess I can be insufferable now too.

MLB Network got video of Mike Rizzo in his suite pumping his fist. Very cool shot!If Chase can grab that for Mark it would be a cool piece to put along with tomorrow morning's coffee and Nats blog post.

Just really really happy maybe moreso than I thought I would be! I was standing up, clapping and my spousal equivalent just didn't understand (although she let me watch the entire game). Will be there Saturday and Monday and will definitely get that shirt!Congrats to all!!Go Nats!! Go Playoffs!! Score First!!

I'm waking up very sleepy tonight, because I stayed up later than I intended to last night. It was great to see the Nats clinch the playoffs, but priceless to see and hear Ray Knight's unbridled enthusiasm on the air.It's a great day in Nats Town.Do any season-ticket holders have an idea when our STH post-season "strip" tickets are supposed to arrive? The post-season starts two weeks from today. I have partners who will want to have tickets before the games are played.

PS: I'll be there Saturday and Sunday for my playoff T-shirt. (Like I need another T-shirt–but this one's special.)Incidentally, Christmas 2004, my wife gave me a Washington Nationals T-shirt, with the old baseball-background logo. I still wear it frequently to Nats Park. Maybe I will this weekend.

It's a lonely life for a Nats fan here in England. I was brought up properly by my mother (a diehard Cubs fan, so she knew the meaning of suffering) as a Senators fan from 1958. A lifetime of waiting! My kids had to be brought up as O's fans (they're pretty happy too right now), so I'm glad I have you all to share the joy with. GOOOOOOO NATS! YAY! Keep up the good work!

Headed down soon to stay the weekend down there — three games without a 1.25 hour commute each way! YAY! Will be there, WILL get the teeshirt. But I will also rock by Livan Nats shirt for old times sake. I kinda hope the Brewers get in so he gets to go, too.